 Industry Pro Newsletter: NYC Tourism is Back, Regional Awards Voting Underwayby Alex Freeman - November 21, 2022 As many theatres get into the swing of their holiday shows and end of year giving campaigns, some good signs for the New York theater industry as tourism continues to rebound from the pandemic. While things still aren’t back to the record setting year of 2019, the city is anticipating ending the year at about 85% of those levels.  Are Theater Development Programs Important?by Cara Joy David - November 21, 2022 The theater we see is not usually a first draft of a work. That seems obvious, but very little press attention is paid to just how a show gets developed. One way has traditionally been through theater development programs. These programs are intensive communal experiences, often pairing the artist with a dramaturg and advisors to develop a piece. Industry Pro Newsletter: New Funding Challenges in the UK and US, New Leaders Take Their Postsby Alex Freeman - November 14, 2022 In the US, programs designed to help businesses and producers make it through the pandemic have been winding down or coming to an end over the last fiscal year - but audiences and funding aren’t yet back to their pre-pandemic levels, leaving leaders in a tough position to figure out how to get their institutions back on firm financial footing. The Broadway League and Actors' Equity Association Negotiate New Production Contractby Cara Joy David - November 14, 2022 In late September, The Broadway League and Actors’ Equity Association kicked negotiations into high gear for the next Broadway and sit-down production contract. The last contract expired, but was extended while the two groups worked through various pandemic-related issues. Equity, ever the fan of a social media hashtag campaign, this week asked its members to share the hashtag #ItsAboutTimeBroadway along with their support for the union. Industry Pro Newsletter: COVID Continues to Impact the Industry, UK Shakes Up Arts Fundingby Alex Freeman - November 7, 2022 Ask anyone working in arts administration right now, and they’ll tell you that the challenges they are facing are numerous and unprecedented. For many regional theaters, audiences are slow to return - but is that individual ticket buyers or season subscribers? Are they concerned about COVID or is it something else? Industry Pro Newsletter: Quiet Quitting in the Arts and Supply Chain Woes Hit the Theaterby Alex Freeman - October 31, 2022 For many working in the entertainment industry, it can often feel like we’re living in a different economy than everyone else - the hours maintained have long been different from the rest of the working world, the day to day tasks, the workplace cultures. This week, different stories about how broader economic trends are showing up in the arts. Industry Pro Newsletter: A Casino in Times Square? Drabinsky Sues Equityby Alex Freeman - October 24, 2022 AEA featured prominently in industry news last week - voicing support for a casino project in Times Square, as the subject of a defamation suit from producer Garth Drabinsky, and their efforts to organize the dancers at Star Garden. All as the industry continues to work towards a new normal, while facing tremendous challenges on all fronts. Bruce Vilanch Departs A SIGN OF THE TIMESby Cara Joy David - October 24, 2022 Last week A SIGN OF THE TIMES -- was announced for a new developmental reading. The release stated the musical had “several script revisions” and the librettist was now Lindsey Hope Pearlman. Absent was any mention of well-known comedy writer Bruce Vilanch, the original librettist, who had been developing the show for almost a decade. Star Garden Dancers One Step Closer to Joining Equityby Cara Joy David - October 17, 2022 Last week Actors’ Equity announced that it was one step closer to unionizing the dancers at Star Garden Topless Dive Bar—the National Labor Relations Board approved a petition for a union recognition election. In other words, if the dancers (and DJs) want a union, they can join one by voting. Industry Pro Newsletter: Unionization Takes a Step Forward at Star Gardensby Alex Freeman - October 17, 2022 Questions of access continue to be discussed after an incident at Hadestown last week, ultimately highlighting that there is a deep need for more education around the topic for everyone involved. In the UK, educational access for school children is becoming more challenging than ever before with cuts to funding for those trips. Industry Pro Newsletter: Theatres Aim to Hold True to Their Values, Some Audiences Are Being Left Behindby Alex Freeman - October 11, 2022 As theatres work to return to the new normal, we continue to find new ways in which the industry needs to find improvements on the way that they treat those that are creating the art - we have arrived at the “rubber meets the road” moment for every theatre that issued statements about their ideals in the past few years. Industry Pro Newsletter: Broadway Lawsuits Find Resolution, Garret Receives Death Threatsby Alex Freeman - October 3, 2022 Settlement was the word of the week on Broadway, with both the Rudin/SpotCo suit and JPP/Wagner Johnson lawsuits finding resolution through settlement - the latter is the subject of a new regular feature for this newsletter from our Industry Editor Cara Joy David. Industry Pro Newsletter: Checking in on Industry Evolution, Gender Pay Gap in the UK Closingby Alex Freeman - September 26, 2022 Stories of transformation highlight the newsletter this week - with two different stories below - one looking at the evolution of Broadway, the other how Regional Theatres are transforming. Both are asking questions in light of racial justice protests that have occured over the past few years, alongside a powerful moment for the labor movement. Industry Pro Newsletter: New CEO of Second City, New Leadership Across the Countryby Alex Freeman - September 19, 2022 With the announced closing of Broadway’s longest running show, questions have risen about tourism (the numbers in New York actually look much stronger than a hot take on Phantom might suggest), about the resiliency of brands (also highlighted by what the future might hold for Second City), and what gets audiences excited to come out to the theater. Industry Pro Newsletter: Victory Gardens Terminates All Staff, A New Broadway Season is Underwayby Alex Freeman - September 12, 2022 Last week, the Board of Directors at Victory Gardens opted to terminate their full staff and change the fundamental direction of the institution. This is the latest development in a sweeping labor reset taking place across the industry. Industry Pro Newsletter: No Good Answer on Masks, New Funds for Upgrades in Londonby Alex Freeman - September 6, 2022 Theatre companies across the globe continue to grapple with some of the earliest questions posed upon reopening: what to do about masks? As more mixed policies come into play, we continue to see that there are segments of the audience that won’t come with masks, and segments that won’t come without, putting producers in a difficult position. Industry Pro Newsletter: Using the Arts to Fund the Arts? Edinburgh Sees Large Ticket Sale Dropby Alex Freeman - August 29, 2022 As summer comes to a close, many regional theaters are preparing to get their new seasons started - for many, this season still carries with it a lot of risk - some of the shows in their season are still shows they had intended to do at some point during the pandemic, and segments of the audience are still hesitant to return to their seats. Industry Pro Newsletter: Where are the Audiences?by Alex Freeman - August 22, 2022 Theatres and arts organizations are back to producing seasons in the way that we were used to before the pandemic. However, the audience hasn’t returned in the same way. In multiple articles in this week's newsletter, we examine the question from a few different angles - where has the audience gone, and how do producing organizations get them back? Industry Pro Newsletter: Policies Diverge Across Regions, Why Theatres Need to Utilize TikTokby Alex Freeman - August 15, 2022 The industry is in a weird spot right now, and the stories in this week’s newsletter highlight the divergent paths different segments of the industry are going down. As the industry recovers and reforms, we’ll continue to see these kinds of divides on the regional level, and we’ll bring you coverage of those divides as they happen. Industry Pro Newsletter: New Leadership Model at Pennsylvania Shakes, New Auditions at Princetonby Alex Freeman - August 8, 2022 Our two Industry Trend stories this week take a look at a few of the different ways that people are trying to bring change to the theatre industry: reforming the work environment that has long been problematic, and the way Princeton is working on developing a new audition process to help bring more people into theatre in an educational environment. Industry Pro Newsletter: Finding Artistic Rest, Susan Booth Returns to the Goodmanby Alex Freeman - August 1, 2022 New Diorama Theatre in the UK announced an interesting new season: they won’t be producing any shows until 2023. The company wanted to give their artists the opportunity to rest away from the pressures of constantly producing. Industry Pro Newsletter: An Industry in Reform - Internships and a New Vision for Fundingby Alex Freeman - July 25, 2022 A thought experiment from New Zealand examines a potentially new way to not only make arts funding more equitable, but transparent and with the opportunity for potential patrons to find projects to fund. This future thinking in the industry extends throughout the United States as well, as companies re-imagine what entry level programs look like. Industry Pro Newsletter: Unions Get to Work, How EST Has Been Making Changesby Alex Freeman - July 18, 2022 Unions have been a central narrative of much of 2022 across many industries, and they took center stage last week in the performing arts industry as two Unions, Actors Equity and United Scenic Artists filed suit against the producers of Paradise Square. Across the river in New Jersey, the American Guild of Variety Artists added Medieval Times. Industry Pro Newsletter: The Paradox of Pay Equity, COVID Spread in NYC High Once Againby Alex Freeman - July 11, 2022 As calls for unpaid internships to come to an end continue, many are re-evaluating their budgets and business models - with some adjusting their production model, and others looking at the financial realities and closing their doors. Industry Pro Newsletter: New Foundation Offering Major Grants, STEM vs STEAM in Arts Edby Alex Freeman - July 5, 2022 One thing we know for sure: the BroadwayWorld audience remains dedicated to seeing multiple shows per year, even if they’re making that final decision and purchasing a ticket much closer to the date of the show than in the past. |
